Electrical Heater
Contents
Key Stage 4
Meaning
A heater is a component in a circuit which is heated when a current goes through it.
About Electrical Heaters
- Heaters are usually long lengths of wire which a high resistance.
- As a current passes through a wire electrons in the current collide with ions in the metal lattice causing them to vibrate. This increases the temperature of the wire.
Energy Transfers
- In an electrical heater electrical work is done to heat an object or the surroundings.
- Energy is transferred into the thermal energy store of the heater.
- Energy is transferred by thermal conduction, convection and by radiation to the thermal energy store of the surroundings.